. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was released on November 15, 2005, and was one of the first games released for the Xbox 360. Police chases make a comeback and represent a significant body of the gameplay, and includes the Grand Theft Auto-like free-roaming of Underground 2, but with less extensive vehicle customization features than in the Underground series. The story mode is presented in a significantly different style from Underground, with CGI effects mixed with live action, which was used in later games. The mode also features the Blacklist, a crew consisting of 15 racers that the player must beat one-by-one to unlock parts, cars, and tracks. The player has to meet certain requirements before he can take on the next Blacklist rival.

A special "Black Edition" of Most Wanted was also released, which features additional races and challenges, and a few bonus cars, including a specially-tuned BMW E46 (M3) GTR , a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a red Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, a Porsche, and a few others, and also includes a Black Edition-only behind-the-scenes DVD. Both versions of Most Wanted are available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Windows-based PCs. Only the standard edition of Most Wanted is available for GameCube and Xbox 360 ("Black Edition" was not produced for these platforms). Black Edition was made for the tenth anniversary of the Need for Speed series. In Germany the "Black Edition" was only released for PS2.